Advice from Ben Main

Ben Main grew up playing a lot of sport. Rugby, cricket, basketball, touch rugby, volleyball, you name it, he played it. These days exercise is still a daily occurrence, and he gets his fix through surfing, basketball and leading group workouts. Ben’s a LES MILLS GRIT™ coach, and he’s recently been involved in the development of LES MILLS TRAINING, a new program available exclusively on LES MILLS™ On Demand.

Ben knows first-hand that sometimes finding the motivation to exercise can be a challenge, but he has some sure-fire strategies to stay on track. He believes it all comes down to listening to your body, not your excuses.

“If you feel like going hard, go hard. If you don’t, then don’t. If you’re not in the mood to push yourself go do something completely different – taking shots on the basketball court is my go to. By taking a break from the routine you’re much more likely to hit back at your training with more focus and determination next time.”

If you often find yourself saying you have no time to exercise, Ben suggests ticking off your workouts in the morning. It means you’ll feel strong and confident for the rest of the day – and you can relax in the evening!

Surrounding yourself with positive role models and working out in a group is a good idea. “I love the energy of group workouts, it’s so motivating. When you’re mid-way through, sore and gasping for air all you need to do is look at your team mate and just nod – you’re thinking damn, but you know you can get through it!”

Music is also fundamental. “Nothing beats cranking the music loud in a group workout.  And, whenever I’m training alone and I want to go hard the first thing I do is up the beat – and the volume.”

Ben is a firm believer that if you want to get the most from your exercise you need to make sure your body’s got the energy it needs to perform at its best. For him this means fuelling his body with lots of nutritious and wholesome food. “If you want to get lean and toned starving yourself is not the way to go. You need to treat your body like a high-performance car. You wouldn’t put crappy oil in a brand new sports car, so don’t put crap in your body either.”

According to Ben there’s no wrong or right way to get active, you just need to find something that works for you. “If you get bored change it up. Talk to lots of people, find out what works for others and give it a go. You have nothing to lose. Remember you never know unless you try. It’s never too late to make a change. It’s never too early to start.”

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